


forget-me-not

by radovanryn



Series: The Company Man [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Study, Childhood Memories, M/M, Role Reversal, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22606441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radovanryn/pseuds/radovanryn
Summary: [Master Isa AU, set just before 358/2 Days] Axel asks Zexion for a favor. An unusual request, perhaps even dangerous given the assassin's unpredictable nature, and yet... Zexion cannot deny the allure secrets hold.
Relationships: Axel/Saïx (Kingdom Hearts), Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: The Company Man [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1563040
Kudos: 22
Collections: Keyblade Master Isa AU





	forget-me-not

**Author's Note:**

> As always, many many many thanks to Nic [@Saïxbosom](https://twitter.com/saixbosom) for gifting us with this best AU, and also to Ari [@thoughquaking](https://twitter.com/thoughquaking) whose fantastic [the subtle grace of gravity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19780879) was and remains highly inspirational in my own writing within this AU.

Zexion frowned as the tell-tale scent of darkness tickled his nose, signaling the imminent arrival of a fellow member via dark corridor. His own duties consumed enough of his focus, and Zexion was loathe to waste his energies on eavesdropping or bored colleagues. He felt himself frown, a curious response for an unemotional (non)entity—Zexion was in the midst of recording this observation when the portal opened.

Ashes and copper. “What is it, Axel? Surely, even you can see that I am rather occupied.” Zexion set his stylus down, and glanced over at the lanky redhead. His frown persisted, the expression a natural configuration of his facial features. Fascinating.

“Now Zexion, don’t look at me like that,” Axel chided him, flashing his trademark smirk. It never quite reached his flat, golden eyes. “You’re my oldest friend, after all.” Axel spoke in a false sing-song cadence, his tone as insincere as his words. Zexion’s Somebody and Axel’s had hardly ever interacted, the youngest apprentice too shy and deeply involved in the Heartless experiments to attract the fiery teen’s attention. There was another Axel’s Other had been much closer to, but Zexion knew better than to speak of the keyblade master in front of Eight. (Vexen  _ still _ bore scars from that particular mistake.)

Instead, Zexion bypassed that conversation entirely and asked, “Have you already finished your mission for today, then?” Axel was many things—few of them positive attributes—but he  _ was _ dependable where the Organization’s objectives were concerned. Unsurprising, given how closely the Superior and Xigbar watched him.

“Nah, I got Demyx to cover for me today,” Axel replied, fingers tracing over a stack of files Vexen had sent over from Castle Oblivion. It seemed his colleague was having some difficulties with the replica program. Vexen was successful in replicating a human form—even a heart—from data alone, however despite his best efforts the puppet would not wake. Zexion knew it was a matter of time until Marluxia summoned him to the castle to assist in Vexen’s efforts.

Axel went on. “I need a favor.” Zexion tilted his head, uncertain. Six avoided trading favors; in the Organization debts were messy affairs. However, he hesitated to deny Axel. The redhead was not known for asking a  _ second _ time.

Zexion sighed, and crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”

Axel’s grin would have been charming, if Zexion didn’t know better. (That, and his unearthly flaxen eyes that lent a sinister appearance.) “Great! I have some… memories I need you to take care of. From my Other.”

“How do you mean?” Zexion held mastery over illusions, not memories  _ per se _ . He could use his abilities to cloud and distort the synaptic relays that activated in response to a particular memory, but he had no control over the hippocampus, where those episodic memories were housed. There were rumors circulating that a new humanoid Nobody had appeared, born from a heart that held no darkness. Larxene’s report called her a ‘witch,’ one that possessed the power to rewrite or even create false memories. Zexion did not care for rumors, but he cared even less for disruptions. So, he appended, “If erasing your memories is what you are after, then perhaps you might have better luck at the new facility?”

“It’s not like that,” Eight explained. “I don’t want to  _ forget _ . I just want to be able to complete my missions without all this—” he gestured vaguely at his head “—getting in the way.”

Zexion nodded, a sign for Axel to  _ go on _ . With a frustrated groan, Axel continued. “It’s him.  _ Master  _ Isa.” Privately, Zexion admitted that Axel was an intriguing specimen. The manner in which he spoke of the keyblade master— _ scathing, bitter, jealous _ —belied genuine emotion. It should have been impossible, and were Axel not Xemnas’s personal assassin Zexion would have asked to experiment on him  _ ages _ ago.

“The  _ Keyblade Master _ is nothing but a traitor and a thorn in the Organization’s side,” Axel spat. “And look, I get it. We need him and all his keyblade brats in order to complete Kingdom Hearts, but I can’t even  _ look _ at him without remembering all the lies. It makes me want to—” Axel abruptly cut himself off as the sharp scent of smoke filled the room. Both Nobodies looked down to Axel’s gloved hands, which smoldered with ill-contained rage. With a lifeless chuckle, Axel shook his hands to extinguish the flames. “You  _ see _ what I gotta put up with?”

Axel moved toward Zexion, slow, graceful,  _ purposeful _ until he stood in front of the younger Nobody. The redhead’s fingers rested gently against his lexicon, and Six felt it as if Axel held those blood-stained digits around his throat. “If a single word of this gets out, I’ll know. You understand,” Axel said, the threat obvious in his tone. “So, you think you can help me out?”

While Zexion doubted Axel would take  _ no _ for an answer, nevertheless he’d piqued the Schemer’s interest. Perhaps he’d uncover some hidden truths that could be applied to the replica project? At the very least, Zexion would have  _ something _ to hold over Axel, should he ever require leverage against the volatile fire-wielder. “I will do what I can,” he replied, motioning for his lexicon. Axel handed it to him wordlessly. He looked pleased.

Zexion opened his lexicon. As always, it precisely landed on the page he needed. Words floated across his vision, twisting and bending and shaping themselves into images, warped and fractured as though reflected by a broken mirror. It had been some time since Zexion had delved into the memories of a Nobody, and for whatever reason Axel’s amygdala was more… active than he’d come to expect. In fact, it was Eight’s emotional epicenter that shined brightest with activity. Zexion traced one path of neuroreceptors, and let himself be drawn into the memory.

In his minds’ eye, Zexion watched as the details of the memory were transcribed with precise care in his lexicon: the sound of bubbling fountains, sweet smell of flowers in full bloom, a bright sun shining overhead. From his own distant childhood, Zexion remembered this place. Radiant Garden, before the fall.

Voices, then Axel—rather  _ Lea _ —appeared, so much younger with shining, vivid green eyes. Zexion, so accustomed to imitating human emotion, observed how earnest Lea seemed. And mischievous. “C’mon Isa,” he whined. “It’ll be  _ so _ romantic!”

Next to him stood Isa, the future keyblade master, far too stoic for someone so young. His arms were crossed, and he looked unmoved by Lea’s pleading. “I’m allergic to paopu fruits. I’ve told you that a hundred times already.”

_ Paopu fruit?  _ Zexion’s brow quirked. Why should a memory about fruit be so troublesome for Axel? A moment later, he remembered. This was a custom shared by several worlds, and likely dated back to the Age of Fairytales. Legend held that the star-shaped fruit held the power to bind destinies. Despite himself, Zexion scoffed. How foolish.

“And I’ve told you, like, a hundred _ and one _ times,” Lea replied, exasperated, “that we don’t need a paopu fruit! You like apples, so we’ll use an apple. It’s not the  _ what _ , it’s the  _ why _ .” The young man smirked. “Got it memorized?”

In Axel’s memory, Isa blushed and said, “Why can’t we just  _ say it _ , Lea? I don’t need to split a piece of fruit with you to tell you that I love you—” Isa’s eyes went wide. Zexion could tell Isa hadn’t meant to say those words to Lea, and judging from the look on Lea’s face, he hadn’t expected to  _ hear _ them either.

Before Axel’s memories continued, Zexion wove a small illusion into the scene. He hid Isa’s blush and altered his words so that their meaning changed. Then, Zexion replayed that bit of the memory. “I don’t need to split a piece of fruit with you,” Isa said.

Zexion felt Axel’s neurons reroute as the receptors processed this new, altered stimuli. In the memory, Lea pouted. “Why not?”

“Why can’t we just  _ say it _ , Lea?” Isa sounded exasperated, so Zexion was unprepared for him to add, “I love you.” The Nobody frowned. This wasn’t even Axel’s original memory, why would his illusion continue to insist on saying that? Zexion focused, so that Isa appeared angry as opposed to frustrated.

The memory resumed. “Just  _ say it _ , Lea!”

“Fine! I love you, Isa!”

“I love you, too!”

Zexion felt the faint traces of ire as Axel’s memory twisted back into its original form. Lea’s visage remained unchanged, still in shock as he processed Isa’s declaration. Of  _ love _ . Zexion glared at the scene frozen before him. Even Axel’s unusual emotional capacities could not account for the strength of this particular memory, nor its resistance to manipulation. Axel lacked a heart, and yet… Zexion focused on Isa. The youth  _ should _ have been nothing more than electro-chemicals, action potentials skittering from neuron to neuron, but when Zexion tried to manipulate those currents there was immense resistance.

“Impossible,” Zexion muttered. It couldn’t be…  _ could it?  _ Six stepped hesitantly towards the blue-haired boy frozen in Axel’s memories. He heard a faint thrumming sound, a steady beat.  _ A pulse _ . Zexion reached out, and met Isa’s gaze. The Nobody gasped.

This was  _ more _ than a memory. It was a  _ connection _ .

From elsewhere and everywhere, a voice sounded.  _ Isa _ , but not the boy in Axel’s memory.

_ You cannot twist a heart’s truth. This is ours. Let go of him! _

An invisible force  _ threw _ Zexion out of Axel’s memories, and the resultant wave was strong enough that his physical body stumbled backwards. His lexicon lay across the room, bent spine and crumpled pages as if something—or  _ Somebody _ —had thrown it. Nearby, Axel winced and pressed the heel of his palm against his brow bone.

“Ow,” Axel said, deadpan. “Feels like Lexaeus rung my bell with that axe of his. Does it usually hurt this much, or did I do somethin’ to piss you off that you forgot to tell me about?”

Zexion allowed a moment to collect himself and gather his thoughts before responding. His retinas burned, as did his entire (non)being. Despite falling to darkness nearly a decade prior, Axel’s memories were filled with light. A light, Zexion suspected, that did not originate from the Nobody. His hypothesis would require further inquiry, of course, but Zexion believed he’d made a revolutionary discovery. His fingers itched for his lexicon.

“Unfortunately, I was unable to dampen your memories as you requested,” Zexion admitted. However, Six was not bothered by his failure; like any scientist, an unexpected outcome was the epitome of intrigue. “As your memories are tied to the heart of another, there is little I can do.”

“Figures,” Axel replied. “I’ll bet he thinks it’s funny, how long he strung me along.” Zexion doubted Axel realized that he spoke of his Other—of  _ Lea _ —as himself. Another effect of the connection, perhaps? Nevertheless, Axel looked tired. Haunted, almost. The fine lines and dark circles under his eyes made the pallor of his skin and the sickly gold of his eyes stand out. “Well, it was worth a shot,” he muttered. “Guess I’ll go find Luxord, try the old fashioned remedy.”

“What’s that?” Zexion asked, curious. Luxord could manipulate time, but surely Axel realized even he could not go back so far as…

“Rum.” Axel smirked. Like usual, it didn’t reach his eyes. He waved a hand, and Zexion’s nose twitched. A dark corridor appeared, but before Axel stepped inside Zexion made him pause.

“The data created from your memories could prove useful,” Zexion said, gesturing at his lexicon. “I should like to keep them on file, should we have need of them.”

Gold eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Sure,” Axel replied. His voice was low, dangerous. “But if you ever try to use this against me, well.” Predatory smile. “It’d just  _ break my heart _ to lose another old friend.” With that, Axel slipped away, and the dark corridor dissipated.

A threat, yes, but Zexion could not ignore the promise of progress, encoded as lines of data in the pages of his lexicon. He sent a brief missive to Vexen before quickly collecting his things.  _ A heart is comprised of memories, and requires a connection. I have acquired both. You owe me.  _ Six avoided trading favors, but perhaps he could persuade Vexen’s project to protect him from Axel’s wrath. A favor, in exchange for Seven’s existence.

(Zexion should have known better, the lesson that Axel forgot. Not even in his memories would Isa— _ Saïx _ —betray Lea.)

**Author's Note:**

> I had a bit too much fun researching the anatomical processes of memory creation for this one, I have to admit. Also, I wanted to play with the idea that post-Mark of Mastery Isa had a better grasp on how hearts are (and remain) connected, even though Yen Sid warned him that holding onto those connections might have consequences. *ominous music plays* Hope you enjoyed this little ficlet!


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